The Relationship between Senior Management and Middle Management - Case Study Example

Name: Professor: Course: Due Date: Critical analysis for Management Introduction In any given organization, both management of people and resources is a very important aspect that helps provide future direction for the business in terms of what should be done to accomplish set objectives. However, the major responsibility lies on the strategists who observe and design the various ways in which the organization should operate in achieving stated goals and objectives. From this level the senior management and the middle level managers plays a very significant role in leading their troops in implementing the predetermined strategies. However, to achieve this outcome, both the senior management and middle level management teams are expected to demonstrate a high level of determination, commitment and positivity in their leadership as they all require the support of the teams they lead (Reed 2011). In a situation where there is clear recognition of the roles of senior managers with those of the other managers and in particular the middle level ones, the support of the employees is likely to be less. Team spirit is a key factor in any leadership and for any management to succeed, it is expected a participative approach must take a center stage in solving different problems. However, this is not the case with many organizations as due attention is not paid to other employees by the senior management ( Alvesson & Willmott 2003). It is in this regard that this essay will go deeper to critically analyze the relationship between senior management and middle management and how it can influence the employees’ behaviors. Relationship between the middle managers and senior managers Work experience can provide very interesting scenarios on the roles and responsibilities of each and every employee in an organization. Literature is showing that in the contemporary business world, more than ever before, managements are facing serious challenges with regard to accommodating different individuals to work towards a common goal and as a team. A major is often experienced between the senior managers and their counterparts the middle managers. While the senior management is mainly intended to direct its energy towards strategy formulation, middle level managers, are expected to play their part in implementing the established strategies. In other words, the work of the middle managers can never be underlet. According to professor Ethan Mollick, in the article known as “People and Process” , “Middle managers in an organizations are likely to have more influence as opposed to all other groups” (Reed 2011, pp. 46). Mollick goes further in his article to argue that, in the current business environment where innovation has become the talk of the day, middle managers are the people to lead the rest towards that approach. However, this cannot easily be achieved if the leadership being provided is not clear and that does not give any independence to middle managers to exercise some authority. For instance, while the senior management may be responsible for the employees’ welfare and their involvement, the middle managers have closer ties with the rest of the employees and therefore need to be an opportunity to lead them and speak on their behalf. In any case, if this approach is not applied, the employees may not have the opportunity to speak on various issues that may be affecting the organizations and the end result is increased employee turnovers as witnessed in the case of my workplace (Fiona 2004). At the organizational level, middle managers are also expected to play the role of project managers, allocate resources to various projects and coordinate the available talents. Further, according to (Greenblatt 2002, pp. 180), middle managers in an organization are very essential in that they act as a link between the senior management and the rest of the organization. In other words, they are used as a glue for top levels and lower management levels of an organization as well as horizontally across all departments. It is in this regard that (Tara 2005, pp. 104), acknowledges that, “knowledge-intensive industries where a variation in the abilities of middle managers particularly have a large impact on firm performance, much larger than that of individuals who are assigned innovative roles.” Further, the role of middle management has continued to evolve over years until much of the work that was in the past known to be handled by the senior management, it is the responsibility of the middle management. This is taking place a time when senior management is now more inclined to stakeholder engagement. For instance, implementing the corporate values that for many years has been known to be the work of the senior management alone, is now being supported by the middle management. Corporate values refer to the different philosophies and principles that are put in place to guide the internal conduct of an organization alongside its relationship with other stakeholders like customers, and business partners as well as shareholders. The corporate values are actually provided for in the company’s mission statement. The work of the middle managers in this case is very simple, to ensure that all employees are made aware of the company values and that all operations and leadership being exercised demonstrate that. This extends to the process of handling and managing employees in an organization. High employee turnover especially by long time and experienced employees in a company, mean one thing and this attention to their needs. It is expected that senior employees be given a hearing and forum to explain their concerns (Fiona 2004). However, because of the organizational structure, this becomes a bit challenging since they are more answerable to senior management that cannot easily be reached. While the middle management may be willing and ready to discharge their duties and responsibilities as outlined in the job description, this may be possible or difficult based on the powers and authority being exercised by the senior management. This is because senior management in determining what the role of middle management should look like. In the 21st century, the debate on the role of senior management has remained raging and this is according to the research by different consultants and management professionals. For instance, there are those who see senior management in an organization, as a team that has the authority to provide the direction of leadership in the organization. However, this view is being put into test as many people see top management as a group of individuals that are self-regarding and inward looking individuals whose behavior is considered antithetical to a majority of organizational interests. This statement is true to some extent and this because each and every top manager may prefer his/her own leadership style where the decision that is being made is final and will not be challenged by any other employee (Reed 2011). This kind of leadership is considered autocratic where the decision maker is final and the work of the rest of the employees is to follow the instructions given in implementing different orders. This could be one of the major causes of the high number of resignations by senior employees in my company. Perhaps this is because they feel discriminated and not given the opportunity by the senior management to contribute to the solutions that are aimed at solving different problems within the company. In other words, with the rich experience that employees may be having, may not be exploited fully and that individual may be pushed in the direction that they are not willing to follow (Caproni 2004). While this view is being maintained by different scholars, there are also those who are of the view that senior management is the core of the organization and that take responsibility of almost everything without paying any substantial attention to the needs of the middle managers. This to a greater extent downplays the role of middle managers in an organization. This can also be learned from personal experience of workplace where even though I feel I have the capacity to deal with the challenges facing the senior employees to win their commitment and make them satisfied, my boundaries are limited. In general, the two approaches to leadership may not offer the best solution in the 21st century where numerous forces are playing a part. It is in this regard that different management professionals are considering different leadership styles and in particular transformational leadership in order to help provide the most appropriate direction for the company in terms of leadership (Tara 2005). Transformational leadership is one of the leadership concepts that is considered very influential in the contemporary society. The theory of transformational leadership is the work of Burns and that he was so passionate about it and believed that it would be able ground for positive thinking as one of pursuing happiness. Burns had clearly given a distinction between the managers that can be termed as leaders and those that can be termed as power-wielders. While the earlier discussed approaches to leadership may have the motive to provide the most suitable leadership, because of the elements that make them, they can be defined in terms of ‘power-wielders’ where individuals are excessively positive about themselves. The high level of employee turnover, is very contrary to what transformational leadership is aimed at. For instance, a transformational leader is known to successfully mobilize their followers for the purpose of achieving a common purpose by engaging their different motives. On the contrary, those leaders that take power and use it to meet personal ends, are considered ‘power-wielders.’ This is to imply that all those leaders that do not respect the opinion of others are considered dictators and can never be positive in their leadership. In his book ‘A New Pursuit of Happiness (2003), Burns has tried to demonstrate that moral and positive leadership can actually go along in satisfying other human beings and thus removing the element of feeling disadvantaged. Generally speaking, good leadership should able not only to inspire the middle managers but all the employees in an organization. This is particularly important in addressing the challenges all employees are facing and also try to seek ways of working as a team a more satisfying way (Caproni 2004). Apart from transformational leadership as one theory explaining leadership and the involvement of middle managers, the other theory that has also been put forward to help explain the role of middle managers in an organization, is the organizational theory. Organisational theory, takes into consideration the design, structure and the relationship that exists between the organization and the external environment as well as the behaviors of various managers and experts within an organization. According to the organizational theory, the role of line managers like that of senior management is specific. They are mostly technocrats who lead different functions like operations, marketing, finance, procurement and many more. Further, the middle management in the organization theory, also does interact with the external environment apart from remaining in close contact within the internal clients who in this case are staff working in different functions (Chris 2009). Conclusion This discussion has discussed in the detail the concept of management by looking into the relationship that exists between the senior management and the middle management. The objective of both levels of management is to provide the required leadership in an organization by ensuring that all employees are playing their role in realizing the organizational goals and objectives. However, to provide smooth leadership, has remained a thorny issue for many organizations and this is because of the approaches that are adopted by senior managements which on many occasions seem to undermine the role of middle managers. In leadership, different approaches are given in reference to self-regarding and inward looking individuals, senior management as the core of the organization and the role of middle management as presented in the organizational theory. In general, in any given circumstance, an organization should have its own design which clearly stipulates the roles and duties of each manager and the authority limits. This is the only sure way to ensure that middle managers have a chance to participate in managing the affairs of an organization. Bibliography Alvesson, M. & Willmott, H. (eds). Studying Management Critically, Sage 658 STU, 2003. Caproni, P. ‘You Can’t Get There From Here’. The Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 2004: 40(2, 208-218,. Chris, Grey. A Very Short, Reasonably Interesting and Relatively Cheap Book on Organisations 2nd edition, Sage, 2009. Fiona, Wilson. Organizational Behavior and Work: A Critical Introduction, 2nd edition. London: Oxford University Press, 2004. Greenblatt, E. ‘Work-life balance: wisdom or whining’. Organisational Dynamics, 2002, 31(2): 177-193. Reed, M. ‘Control in Contemporary Work Organizations’ in Blyton P, Heery E and Turnbull P (Eds) Reassessing the Employment Relationship. New York: Palgrave p. 41-70, 2011. Tara Brabazon, ‘What have you ever done on telly’. International Journal of Cultural Studies, 2005, 8(1): 101-117. Read More